Call them Goddess of Mercy Plant, Dragon Plant, Belgian Evergreen, Ribbon Plant, Curly Bamboo, or Sander’s Dracaena; Dracaena sanderiana is a commercially in-demand tropical herb native to Central Africa. Its patterned curly greyish-green leaves and plump shoots distinguish it from other similar bamboo trees.
Known to be a harbinger of good luck and fortune, keeping a pot of Lucky Bamboo Plant beside your door entrance purifies the air and detoxifies alkaloids and formaldehyde. It could be the attraction you need for more positivity on a psychological level.
Propagating Lucky Bamboo indoors
They are wonderful indoor decorative plants with a high tolerance for shady environments where there’s low or moderate illumination. It’s best to place them right beside a south or East-facing window where there’s maximum exposure to indirect sunshine.
Stem cuttings commonly propagate Lucky Bamboo, which can be grown either in a soil Potting Mix or in a water vase. I find it very convenient to grow my bamboo pots in a soil potting medium because I like to report them repeatedly.
Propagating Lucky Bamboo Plant by Cuttings
Stem Cuttings are your best bet for the successful propagation of Lucky Bamboos. Any well-developed stem up to 4-6 inches with 2-3 leaves and visible nodes is ideal. Just pluck off the stem using a sharp knife or gardening scissors. The cuttings can be rooted in water or a potting medium.
Growing your Lucky Bamboo Cuttings in Water
Lucky Bamboo is easily propagated in water where pebbles and small stones are readily available. Get a glass vase or transparent container and pour water till it’s almost full. Ensure you’re not using chemically pretreated water, which may adversely affect the tender plant.
Select fine pebbles, smooth stones, or some glass chips and place them in the glass container. Now, place the cuttings into the container, slanting them in from the sides. Lucky Bamboos prefer rooting in water with pebbles and smooth stones better than sand and garden dirt.
Your cuttings will begin to root in water after 3-4 weeks if they get the right amount of sunshine. Place the glass container beside a well-lit window with plenty of indirect sunshine. Remember to change the water once every week or when it begins to look stale.
Moving a Soil Potted Lucky Bamboo into Water
Watching your Lucky Bamboo grow in a transparent water glass is soothingly refreshing, and many gardeners opt for transferring a potted one back into a water medium. I didn’t know this was possible until I tried it myself.
- The process is easy; you remove the potted Lucky Bamboo Plant from its pot and shake off the dust and soil on the roots. You may need to wash the roots gently in flowing water to remove all the dirt.
- Now get your glass vase ready with clean natural water in it. Just slide the Lucky Bamboos into the glass container from the sides and place it on a shaded, well-illuminated surface.
Rooting your Lucky Bamboo Cuttings in a Potting Medium
Lucky Bamboo is also easily grown in a soil mix potting, which makes them feel at home. The Soil Mix Potting should be moist and not wet or drenched. You should also ensure proper drainage in the pot by boring tiny holes at the sides and bottom.
Pour your rooting soil mix into a pot and make 1-inch holes on the surface. Now insert the cuttings into the holes and fill them with more potting mix for better rigidity and support.
You only need to water the pot immediately if the soil mix feels dry when felt. Remember to sit the pot where it will gain much indirect sunlight for the next few weeks, and you can expect to start seeing some new growths within six weeks after propagation.
Best Potting Medium to Propagate Lucky Bamboo
They like to be in a mildly acidic potting medium, preferably with a pH range of 6.0-6.5. it’s vital to keep the soil mix highly enriched with organic compounds to improve growth performance.
The regular commercial cactus and succulent soil mix will provide the needed nutrients for their growth when blended with well-aerated garden soil. You can add orchid bark, charcoal, or 30% perlite into your Potting Mix to improve the aeration and drainage.
I discovered a great blend that works very well for Lucky Bamboos. It comprises 30% garden soil (or loamy soil), 15% sharp sand, 40% peat moss, and a measure of pine bark to supply the organic compounds.
One major quality of the Lucky Bamboo Plants is their toughness and resistance to harsh conditions; they’re sometimes known as ‘The indestructible Shrub’ because they withstand daring circumstances.
Lucky Bamboo is categorized among the easiest garden plants to propagate; caring for them is not so stressful, so maintaining them should be easy, even if you’re beginning your journey as a propagator.
Creating the Right Environment for the Lucky Bamboo
While they naturally love to be left under the brilliantly shining sun, extended exposure to direct sunlight would cause yellowing of their leaves and even sunburns in more severe cases. It’s more profitable to keep their leaves dry at temperatures not greater than 80°F (27°C) and not less than 55°F (12.7°C).
Watering the Lucky Bamboo Plant
They generally prefer bottom watering to misting or spraying. Your watering cycle should be less frequent than once in one or two weeks during their active growing season. You’ll know it’s time to water them when the top layer of the Potting mix appears dry.
I prefer misting and spraying water on them during their first few weeks while their mostly under shade. But as soon as they’re mature enough to take one or two hours of direct sunshine daily, I result to bottom watering, which is more efficient and keeps their leaves fresh, dry, and evergreen.
Winter and early fall watering should be more infrequent than during spring and summer. They can go for up to three weeks without water in winter due to their relaxed growing activities. It’s best to keep them away from moisture as much as possible in these seasons.
Propagating Lucky Bamboo is essential for their prolonged survival due to their short-lived nature. Lucky Bamboo is mostly an annual garden plant that can only see its second year with proper care.
Propagating the Lucky Bamboo in a new soil potting, however, ensures you can have them blooming and blossoming around you year after year, growing to heights that measure up to 40 inches (101.6 cm).
Although they may bring good luck to you and other people around you; Lucky Bamboo is known to cause certain bad luck to pets like cats and dogs. Some of their leaves or stems can cause severe vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and general weakness.